Higher power for longer in 4 weeks

Vo2 max intervals may be beneficial to athletes who already have a solid aerobic endurance base and who have reached a power plateau. Vo2 max training may give a competitive advantage in events which require higher power demands such as track endurance events, hill climbs and criteriums.

The stimulus of VO2 max intervals can improve power. The VO2 max program below is ideal to help athletes to cycle at a higher power for longer within 4 weeks. It starts with short VO2 max intervals to boost power and then works up to longer intervals to sustain it.

4-week VO2 max power training plan

The above 4-week VO2 max power plan is ideal to be applied after an endurance cycle such as per any of the below two plans:

4-week aerobic endurance plan ( 5-6h per week)

4-week aerobic endurance plan (6h – 7.5h)

Dial up aerobic fitness in four weeks

Aerobic fitness is key for cycling. Cycling events longer than a kilo on the track utilize aerobic energy. A well developed aerobic system will help a cyclist to ride at a higher intensity for longer.

The 4-week aerobic fitness programs in the links below can be used pre-season or at the start of a season. They can be applied to prepare for road, track, MTB and gravel disciplines.

6-7h per week aerobic fitness program

5-6h per week aerobic fitness program

Click here to view all programs by TrackCyclingSA coach, Jaco Scholtz.

The future looks bright at Bellville velodrome

The third round of the Western Province track league took place on Fri, 2 August, at Bellville velodrome. This event was back to back following the one on Friday, 26 July.

It was the second track event at Bellville velodrome under the new LED lights which replaced the existing 30-year old lights that that were at end of lifespan.

This upgrade solidified the Bellville velodrome as the top indoor cycling facility in Africa.

The program was fast and action packed. Racing started at 7pm and ended at 9.30pm. There was racing for category A to E and riders from under 11 up to 75 – 79 competed.

There were several highlights. Here is our top 5:

10km scooter scratch (30 laps scooter and 10 laps scratch) in 11min59s at 50kmh. Carl Bonthuys winning.

The Western Province elite team pursuit squad in action and closing in on 50kmh.

Imtiyaaz “Sparkles” Schultz first cat A win with a long sprint in the 8 laps scratch race.

The Cat D kids racing at 40kmh in their scooter scratch.

Cat E kids start list growing with 2 more riders joining in.

Here is the leader board:

The next event is planned for Friday, 30 August, 2024. Follow WP track on Whatsapp for event updates.

Follow TrackCyclingSA on Facebook for news and updates about track cycling in South Africa.

Photos courtesy of Marc Pentz photography.

Wp track league gets off to a flying start

The Western Province (Wp) track league got off to a flying start on Friday, 31 May 2024, at Bellville velodrome.

The program had racing for all categories frum under 11 to veterans. The event evening saw scooter scratch races winding speeds up to over 50kmh. The purpose of this is to increase the average speed of local racing.

Each race category had 3 races for the evening.

Here are the Category A to C and team competition leaders:

Photos by Marc Pentz.

Category A to C points table:

The next events at Bellville velodrome are on:

26 Jul – Wp league 2

2 Aug – Wp league 3

30 Aug – Wp league 4

All events are on a Friday from 7 to 10pm.

Track league goes back to the 80’s

The WP track league kicks off on Saturday, 20 May’23, at Bellville velodrome. The loadshedding schedule has been consulted and there is no impact on the event.

Entries close on 17 May’23. Click here for league and event details.

The maximum gear ratio is limited to 90-inches. This encourages rides to use leg speed. It is a fun way to get going again on the track after a break since the track nations in April.

WP track league #5

The WP track league is heating up after a super attendance at event 4.

The 5th of the 7 event series takes place tomorrow at the Bellville velodrome.

DSV leads the team competition with TrackCyclingSa in 2nd place with ASAP in 3rd. Tomorrow evening the teams will do battle in an 8-lap team pursuit where 4 riders of each team will aim to set the fastest time.

The leaders per category are:

Sprint tournament: Jordan September (Kinetic Pro)

CAT A: Ethan Kulsen (DSV)

CAT B: Theo Williams (DSV)

Women: Charlissa Schultz (Eden)

Veterans: Oswin Booysen (Bellville)

Visit https://www.wpcycling.com/event/wp-track-league-5-1/ for the detailed leaderboard

Click here for the program.

Wp track cycling league gears up for round #3

The 3rd round of the Western Province track cycling league takes place at the Bellville velodrome tonight. Racing starts at 7pm. Registration and number collection closes at 6.45pm.

The event features racing for all categories and an open team sprint competition. DSV, TrackCyclingSA, ASAP and Kinetic have all committed teams to the event. There will be coffee and snacks on sale at the event. The school holidays makes it an ideal family evening.

Here are the league standings after the first two rounds.

Eastern Province Grand Prix returns

The Eastern Province Grand Prix returned to the racing calendar after many years.

The Eastern Cape track cycling Grand Prix

The event took place from Friday the 17th to Saturday the 18th of June 2022. This gave visiting riders the opportunity to create a long weekend and to travel to the event on Youth day. Racing took place at the Westbourne Oval track.

Westbourne Oval

The track is 500m long and is extremely smooth. The weather was perfect on the Friday. There was some wind on the Saturday, but not too bad.

There was racing for all categories from scholars to veterans.

Veterans racing

Friday was mainly a match sprint day with qualifiers, heats and semi-finals being run. The finals were run on the Saturday. The event also included points, scratch, elimination, keirin and 1500m races over the two days. The team sprints and team pursuits were held on the Saturday.

Masters team sprint

The event was well supported by the youth with great scholars participation.

Youth cycling

Here are the full results:

A lap at speed around Westbourne oval

Team pursuit back on program in local league

Bellville velodrome

The next league event on the Western Province calendar includes a 8-lap team pursuit. Riders of the same club or same sponsored team will compete for points towards the league team trophy. Racing starts at 7pm on Tuesday, 14 June The event takes place at the iconic Bellville velodrome.

Match sprint

The program also includes bunch races for all categories while the invitation sprint tournament continues.

Here is the program:

Wp track league #2 program
Wp league standings after event 1 of 9